3 Key Takeaways | Is Franchising Doomed? The 2024 Version
Is Franchising Doomed?
II-27 - Our 1st Anniversary Special: Bringing Back Our Inaugural Guest to Discuss What Was and What Will Still Be With President Trump
Employment Law This Week: Break Pay, Misclassification of Franchisees, California Computer Professional Exemption, Non-Compete Payment
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) issued its final rule on the latest standard for joint-employer status on October 26, 2023, with an effective date of December 26, 2023. Joint-employer status is crucial...more
On October 26, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a final rule on joint employment, reversing its previous standard set in 2020. Employers that have potential control or influence over another entity’s...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Court the question of whether franchisee plaintiffs in an ongoing case pass the threshold inquiry under the state’s three-prong employee...more
Refusing to rubber-stamp a proposed $5 million anti-poaching class action settlement, a federal court in Kentucky has directed the plaintiff to provide additional information to allow proper consideration of the factors...more
The Federal Government recently introduced the latest in a series of workplace reforms into Federal Parliament. The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (the Bill), proposes further amendments to the...more
On September 11, 2023, the coalition of California businesses announced its agreement with labor unions to withdraw their referendum challenging Assembly Bill (AB) 257, which created the FAST Recovery Act, from next year’s...more
It’s been a busy spring at the California state capitol. Among the few thousand bills being considered by California’s legislature this year, AB 1228 stands out. The bill would essentially create joint liability for...more
With one day left to spare before the deadline to introduce new bills, on February 16, 2023, California Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-41) introduced Assembly Bill 1228, the “Fast Food Franchisor Responsibility Act.” This...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision that a group of franchisees are not employees of their franchisor, even though the trial court failed to apply the correct test. Haitayan v. 7-Eleven, Inc., 2022...more
Arrington v. Burger King Worldwide, Inc., No. 20-13561 (11th Cir. Aug. 31, 2022) – In October 2018, a former line cook of a Burger King franchise restaurant in Illinois, filed a class action complaint in the District Court...more
On Labor Day, with support from prominent unions, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which will significantly affect fast-food restaurants in the...more
The Act has the potential to significantly increase wages for restaurant employees and to impose work scheduling limitations on restaurant companies. Key Points: ..Restaurant companies that are part of a chain with...more
On January 31, 2022, the California State Assembly passed Assembly Bill (AB) No. 257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (FAST Recovery Act), which would potentially provide increased rights to the...more
Past and present franchisees of commercial cleaning service franchisor, Jani-King, brought claims for violation of Connecticut minimum wage and anti-kickback laws, and unjust enrichment. They claimed Jani-King misclassified...more
In the same month that 7-Eleven prevailed in a federal court trial where convenience store franchisees claimed they were not independent contractors but rather employees entitled to the protections of state labor laws, a...more
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Franchisees’ Minimum Wage and Unjust Enrichment Claims - A divided panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that claims of improper wage deductions and unjust...more
On July 29, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced it is rescinding a final rule issued just last year (2020 Final Rule) that sought to clarify the standard for finding two separate entities to be “joint employers”...more
On June 3, 2021, AB-257, the Fast Food Accountability and Standards Recovery Act (the “FAST Act”) was defeated in the California Assembly, coming up three votes short of the 41 votes needed. The FAST Act would have...more
It was predictable – even inevitable – that the Biden administration would reverse much of Trump’s labor oeuvre. But no one could have predicted how quickly! In a little more than a month, the administration has:...more
For generations of small business owners franchising serves as a successful business model. Under this paradigm a franchisor grants a franchisee a license to use the franchisor’s trademark and business concept in exchange for...more
Court Dismisses Ostensible Agency Claim on Motion for Reconsideration - A federal court in California has granted a motion for reconsideration in light of recent Ninth Circuit precedent, reversing the district court’s...more
Key points- • On February 26, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board issued its final rule on the joint employer standard limiting the imposition of joint employer status to businesses that exercise substantial, direct...more
A business is a joint employer of another employer’s employees only if the two employers share or codetermine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment, according to a recently unveiled and long-awaited...more
Individual Examination into Effect of Alleged False "No Artificial Flavors" Label Necessary - In Marotto v. Kellogg Co., No. 18 Civ 3545, 2019 WL 6798290 (S.D. N.Y. Dec. 5, 2019), the court declined to certify a putative...more
A significant amount of legal activity has taken place recently in the area of joint employment. Joint employment exists when more than one entity is deemed to be a worker’s employer. Typically, a direct employer and a...more